Month: January 2012

Tennessee Vols head coach Derek Dooley missed out on one of the nation’s top recruits in ILB Dalton Santos. Santos, who originally committed to Tennessee, opted to commit to the University of Texas, the state that Santos is from.

Santos’ decision hurts a Tennessee team with a new defensive coordinator, former Alabama linebackers coach Sal Sunseri. Alabama runs a 3-4 defense and logic dictates that Sunseri will want to do the same in Knoxville.

Losing Santos so close to National Signing Day should send Tennessee scrambling to find a replacement. Tennessee has only one other linebacker recruit in the class: Justin King. The Vols had received a commitment from outside linebacker Otha Peters, but he changed his commitment to the University of Arkansas on January 31, 2012.

Losing these linebackers are huge concerns for Tennessee who need players to fill in roles on their new 3-4 defense. With National Signing Day so close, Tennessee will need to fill these holes quickly.